Rent Ferrari (2023)

Dull cut from the middle of Ferraris life - Ferrari review by JD

I come to this as a car nut. And one who knows a fair bit about the history of motorsport - although little about the life or origins of Enzo and Ferrari

Origins would be hinted at, but not detailed which left even my non-car GF asking questions about how it got to this stage. The film is just a window into a specific, short time period which allows the film to focus on his personal life and a couple of racing and business events.

The film is mostly a personal drama. With a few cars and drivers, mostly setting up for a single event. Which in itself is interesting, but its not enough to warrant a 2 hour film about one of the most famous marques in history. Many key moments are dropped in clumsily and the impact will largely be missed by those who dont know automotive history, Fiat, Ferraris hatred of the kit cars, the driver dynamics etc are all mentioned but lack flesh. Only the Danger aspect gets any weight.

I get the feeling the film is trying to appeal to everyone. Drama for the girls and cars for the boys. In doing so it pleases nobody.

I couldnt help thinking a film about Chapman would be far more interesting. Much like Enzo in that he was a man of questionable morality, high Engineering skill and had a role in shaping motorsport and cars in general. But much more so on all counts! But of course the name wouldnt sell movies to the masses..... which takes us right round to the purpose of this film.

Great production values cannot rescue the most boring film of the year. Switched off after an hour - Ferrari review by TB

Michael Mann can be so frustrating as a filmmaker. This is the man who wrote & directed Heat, The Last of the Mohicans, Collateral and Blackhat, films which are absolutely incredible & visceral in their impact. And this is the same person who has also created Public Enemies and Miami Vice, 2 films which were complete misfires and duds (still to this day I cannot believe that Public Enemies was allowed to be released with what is by some distance the worst sound mix I've ever heard in a major Hollywood film, closely followed by some of the worst cinematography.) And unfortunately, Ferrari can be added to that list, although for entirely different reasons.

The film looks at a key time in the life of Enzo Ferrari. 10 years after the creation of his company, his business is in crisis and on the verge of going bankrupt; he loses his best driver in a catastrophic test-track accident; his personal life of multiple affairs & secret love-child is at constant risk of being exposed and his wife Laura is shown as highly unstable but also controls 50% of his business, so is intractably involved in the company. In a last roll-of-the-dice, he enters into the Mille Miglia race to gain glory as well as save his business.

There is a massive elephant in the room when watching this film: a couple of years ago, the magnificent Ford V Ferrari/Le Mans '66, looking at another significant part of the Ferrari history involving racing, was made. It was a flawless, gripping & stunningly-made story which managed to, incredibly, make both the boardroom politics AND the racing sequences exhilarating, perfectly complimenting each other.

And when it comes to this balancing act, Mann should be in his absolute sweet-spot. Whether it is the frantic hunt by the police to catch a contract killer (Collateral,) or hunting a bank-robbing gang (Heat,) Mann made the dark backroom chats with spooks or the police scoping out a potential robbery site thrilling. But all of that skill was nowhere to be seen in the hour I watched Ferrari before turning it off.

This film is so boring, so so boring. Literally, we watch a series of events which whilst they somewhat effectively communicate the situation Ferrari is in, just aren't in any way interesting. We watch Ferrari lackadaisically move through the scenes, showing some emotions when visiting a family grave, looking a little shocked when a gun is pointed & fired close to him and acting like a child when he is told that his company will go bankrupt if he doesn't secure more funding, which will inevitably mean giving up some control.

Adam Driver, excellent in What If, The Last Duel & House of Gucci, struggles with this role, although I think that even original choice Christian Bale would not have fared much better. Driver is clearly trying his best to inject some power & prowess into his performance, but this is totally lost in a dull & turgid film. Penelope Cruz fares a little better, but again, any flashes of interest were extinguished pretty quickly. There are a few small bit-parts which could have potentially been good, including Jack O'Connell turning up as an English racer, but they all get lost in the mush.

Of course, being a Mann film, the sets, design, cinematography ect is also world-class, but this is like polishing the silverware on the Titanic as she goes down. None of it makes any difference to the final product.

Do yourself a favour & rent Le Mans '66 instead.

Quite Dark and Heavy - Ferrari review by KB

I thought this film would be a bit more uplifting & lighter .The story is just based on 1 year ,1957 ,i think so is not very expansive .The race scenes are o.k but not as good as Le Mans 66 or Rush .

Overall. i didn't enjoy it & found it a bit gruelling.

Lost in (Non)Translation - Ferrari review by JJ

Why bother making a film with Italian characters in Italy and then have them speak in frankly ridiculous Italian-accented (so they imagine) English? It's a joke. Either have them speak in ordinary English or hire Italian actors to speak in Italian and put some bloody subtitles on. Most places simply dub foreign language films anyway, so why not? A rare fail from Michael Mann.

Downbeat dud - Ferrari review by Alphaville

Perhaps you need to like noisy cars to like this. Even then, this is a crushing disappointment from the director of such rousing films as Heat and Last of the Mohicans. The subject of the film, as played by a stone-faced Adam Driver, comes over as an unappealing figure and the plot just treads water. It’s 1957 Italy and we follow Ferrari as he tries to make deals to stop his business going broke and deals with problems in his personal life. Nothing much happens until a final 1000-mile road race, which you’d think Mann would at least shoot excitingly, but one noisy car is much like any other and we barely know the drivers so there’s no investment in the result. Plus it’s intercut with yet more financial dealing to blunt any momentum. What a disappointment.